English Premier
2025-08-17 - Manchester United vs Arsenal
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 17th August 2025 - Kick Off 4:30pm
This game is live on TV
Manchester United
2024/25 proved to be about as miserable a campaign as any Manchester United fan could have feared and losing the Europa League Final was the 'icing on the cake'. For only the second time since English clubs were allowed back into European competition, Manchester United will not be involved in matches on the continent and Ruben Amorim will be under pressure to get this club moving back in the direction the owners demand.
There was so much talk about whether Ruben Amorim was the right manager or had the right tactics, but the man himself felt he would have been better off arriving in the summer rather than mid-season. Results ended up backing him up with Manchester United finishing in an embarrassing 15th place in the Premier League table, but excuses will not fly if a poor start is made to this campaign.
Manchester United know the problems were in the final third with just 44 League goals scored in 38 games, a ridiculously poor number that saw the likes of West Ham United and Wolves surpass that total. A 7-3-9 record at Old Trafford was a real issue for the team and that will have to be improved markedly, especially as the demands will be for a top seven finish.
The side had lost 4 of 5 games in all competitions culminating in the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League Final in Bilbao, but Manchester United did conclude the campaign with a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa. It is a victory that ended a run of 4 home League games without a win and Manchester United had lost twice in a row at Old Trafford in the Premier League prior to that win over Aston Villa.
Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko have all been signed to help Manchester United vastly improve the 44 League goals scored last season. The former two are expected to start, but Sesko may have to begin on the bench having only arrived earlier this month. Andre Onana and Joshua Zirkzee are hoping to be available for selection having overcome injuries and returned to training.
Arsenal
Twice in the history of the Premier League has a club finished 2nd three times in a row and unfortunately for Arsenal fans, they have done that on both occasions. Mikel Arteta has certainly helped improve Arsenal from where they were when he took over, but silverware is important and it has now been five years since Arsenal won anything.
It was clear that Arsenal were let down by a lack of goals as injuries piled up in the final third and that was the main reason they could not sustain a title challenge last time around. This is something that has been addressed in the transfer window, but The Gunners have been given a tough start to the season with visits to Old Trafford and Anfield before the first international break of the season.
Arsenal finished last season with a 9-8-2 record and the overall 14 Premier League draws were only surpassed by Everton's 15. This is clearly a key area to improve for the manager and players if they are going to win the Premier League title for the first time since 2004. Arsenal lost just 1 of their last 10 away games in all competitions, but only half of those games ended in wins.
Gabriel Jesus will be missing for a bit more time after suffering a serious injury back in January, while Leandro Trossard is a doubt. New signing Victor Gyokeres is set to lead the line and Martin Zubimendi will also make his debut.
Head to Head
Arsenal took four points from Manchester United in the Premier League, but suffered a FA Cup Third Round defeat on Penalties to this rival.
The one game at Old Trafford ended 1-1 in March.
Arsenal have won 1 of their last 4 visits to M16, but they are also unbeaten in the last 2 here at Old Trafford following consecutive defeats.
Prediction
There was a time when both Manchester United and Arsenal would enter a new Premier League season expecting to challenge one another for the title, but the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City have been more consistent over the last few seasons.
Three consecutive 2nd place finishes for Arsenal have perhaps disappointed some of the fanbase and there will be regret that the goalscorer position was not addressed twelve months ago. That may have allowed Arsenal to take advantage of Manchester City's slump, but 69 goals in 38 League games was not good enough and it was Liverpool who benefited instead.
Victor Gyokeres has been signed to address the problem, while Mikel Arteta will be hoping for better health for his forward players. Bukayo Saka is key and Kai Havertz is also back and so Arsenal can visit Old Trafford with some confidence on the opening day of the season.
There is a much bigger gap to bridge for Manchester United after the hugely disappointing campaign, but Ruben Amorim has had a full summer with the team and he has been given plenty of financial backing.
Like Arsenal, Manchester United will know they need to score a lot more goals if they are going to make strides up the League table and they have signed proven players in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo to do that. Benjamin Sesko looks an exciting addition and Manchester United fans will arrive at Old Trafford with a real sense of expectation to see improvements.
To his credit, Ruben Amorim has overseen stronger performances against the better clubs.
Manchester United took four points against Manchester City under the guidance of the manager, while also drawing 2-2 at Liverpool and beating Arsenal in the FA Cup, albeit on Penalties. They were beaten 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium, but Manchester United held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw here in March and arguably deserved more.
This will be a stronger Arsenal team arriving on Sunday than the one that visited Old Trafford in March, but the same can be said for the home team.
It is a fixture that is going to let the fans know exactly where the respective teams stand going into the new campaign and it is going to be warm conditions in Southern Manchester, which will perhaps be a factor too. Going behind will make it feel like a long way back, and the first goal is so important in a lot of football matches between the top clubs.
Under Ruben Amorim, Manchester United did hold the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City to draws at Old Trafford, but there feels like there will be more bite in the final third and Arsenal do look short at odds on to open their campaign with a victory.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal
